Sundance Film Festival: why the films will surprise

It’s fair to say there’s a sense of culture shock at the O2’s Cineworld
multiplex in east London. It’s a place that usually shows mainstream
Hollywood product, but this week the Sundance film festival came to town and
the Cineworld is the venue for screenings of titles from a far broader range.

Some people in Britain suspect Sundance is a festival for limited types of
movies: worthy, liberal documentaries or stories of affluent, self-absorbed
young Americans. An early sampling of what’s on offer this weekend put that
canard to rest.

Joe Berlinger’s bracing documentary Under African Skies (above)
traces Paul Simon’s triumphant return to South Africa 25 years after he
ignored a UN cultural boycott of that country to record his majestic
Graceland album with local musicians.